ACOUSTIC ISOLATOR PRO: THE APP TO MEASURE AND ISOLATE NOISE FROM INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY

3/17/2021

The noise generated by industrial machinery can be annoying and even harmful to people. Working in acoustically contaminated environments can lead to a reduction in job performance due to harmful effects on the human body such as irritability, sleep disorders, fatigue, stress, and even hearing conditions such as hearing loss or Tinnitus.

The most effective way to avoid such problems is always prevention. Working in a properly acoustically isolated environment should be the first step, therefore it is advisable to carry out an acoustic study of the workplace to identify the origin of the noise and try to avoid its propagation in the best possible way. Acoustic studies help to determine sound sources with a medium or high risk potential and, based on the data collected, choose the best strategy to isolate this source acoustically. The biggest drawback is that these acoustic studies tend to be costly and require specialized equipment to do so.

Acoustic Isolator PRO has been developed with the aim of providing an easy and simple way to acoustically isolate elements that generate noise of a harmful or annoying nature with the help of a smartphone. The microphone built into the mobile phone is sensitive enough to record ambient noise and provide a measurement of it, with this information, the app will display the insulating materials that are best suited.

The measurements made by the Acoustic Isolator PRO application have been developed to work interchangeably on phones with Android or iOS operating systems. The app provides the global value of the measured noise, as well as the FFT graph in octaves and decibels (A). With this information, the user has a first view of the noise generated by a machine without having to go directly to a professional acoustic studio, which would incur a high economic cost.

Once a noise measurement is completed, Acoustic Isolator PRO asks the user for certain information about the working environment of the machinery and, therefore, the work environment where the acoustic material will be placed. This information is for example ambient temperature, the existence of fluids such as oil and gasoline, if the material is required to be fireproof or if it must be protected against abrasions, among others.

The following steps are necessary to carry out a correct noise measurement and to select the right insulation material:

1. Carry out a measurement of the noise generated by the machine to be isolated

The first step is to measure the noise generated by the machine. It is recommended to carry out this point by making an envelope of the machine to have a general vision of the element to be isolated, thus checking if there is any point louder than another.

For this, the application gives the possibility of taking a measurement at four specific points of the machine.

Four points measurement is recommended.

It starts by selecting a point, after which the measurement window opens.

Measurement Window.

The measurement window shows the noise in real time, represented in thirds of an octave and decibels (A). This operation takes about 10 seconds.

Maximum and mean values.

Once the desired points are measured, the application displays the maximum and average measured values. The user chooses on which point he wants to work.

2. Once the noise measurement has been performed, the characteristics of the desired material are introduced

The application requests certain material characteristics from the user, such as thickness, working temperature or whether there will be contact with certain fluids.

Once the parameters are entered, various options are displayed based on user preferences.

3. The application will provide the theoretical noise isolation results

Taking into account the user's preferences regarding the materials to be used, the application displays on screen the theoretical isolation results in frequency bands and in percentage of isolation based on the selected material.